Stencil burner

Has anyone ever tried these things called stencil cutters, or burners. like a small soldering iron with a bent tip, they go for 20 or 30 bucks, melt through the material the stencil is to be made of, instead of cutting it with a blade..

[Snuff]

Yes,
And they are great!
I built mine out of a small Radio Shack butane soldering iron. Just brazed a very sharp nail on the end. No cords to clutter things up and I matched the angle to what is comfortable for my hand.
The only problem I've ever had is the rounded edges. They can be sanded off with 240 grit paper though.

[cdv]

I have one and it does work good but you have to watch what material you are melting through cause if you slow down, you can get a bigger hole than you really wanted. I also saw one that has an Exacto #11 blade for the tip, almost bought it to try, I thought it might even be finer than the small bent tip on the one I have.

Also, that tip is easily bent when hot and if you aren't careful, it will straighten out some but can be carefully bent back into shape... I'm sure it will break on me sometime in the future.

Cliff

[Gators]

Like the others I have one and it can be quick but I agree with Cliff and Snuff, it depends on the material that your burning and how clean the stencil needs to be.

I might try the one that uses an Exacto like blade to see if it leaves a cleaner edge as the round pointed tip on mine wants to push up an edge if the speed is not quite correct. JMO

[fontgeek]

They can work great for some things, however, you need to realize that they are burning/melting material away, so if you need the mask (the positive) and the stencil (the negative) half of your intended artwork to match tightly, you will be out of luck.

Most people get impatient with them, they try to go too fast when they are burning the material away, and they end up getting distorted outlines.

You need to cut on a smooth, flat glass or metal surface, with your material laying flat and smooth on it, this helps you avoid burning huge holes because you went too slow or got a little over anxious.

Make sure you keep the tip clean and straight, letting it get built up with gunk is a recipe for disaster.

Be careful with those things, they can give some really nasty burns!

[Sabreghost]

thnx everyone for the info. have to go with something cheaper than a vinyl cutter, i accidently bought a new motorbike..... won't be airbrushing this one though!

[GregerLMacleod]

LOL New new bike! U've really gone out on a wire haven't U Dave...... Congratulations on your new baby! Okay, come on, Let's have the juicy details, what did you get you rascal you! LOL I'm green with envy, and happy for you too.

As far as stencil burners go, they have a new one out that is a heated tip exacto knife#11 blade. I have a standard stencil burner and it does okay, all the above does apply for sure. I want to tray the xacto stencil burner. You might want to look for one?

once again congrats on the new bike.

Greger

[Sabreghost]

thnx Greger, by the sound of it the exacto blade might be the go... if i can afford it, lol. well, i took the leap i said i never would. bought a harley. went in wednesday to go for a test ride, the shop owner said to come in for a lap, no obligation. ok, chris took me for a ride on a softail, he rode one with louder pipes, i had standard. 10 minutes later, i thought 'no big deal, nice to ride, solid, ok. then we swapped bikes. back at the shop i said 'thanks, nice bike, feels better than mine i guess, but i like my honda'. said thanks, catcha later, and went to walk away. then caught a bit of chrome twinkling under the awning. walked over and had a look and said' bloody hell, what's that worth, looks really nice.' he told me the price, which floored me cause it was cheaper than a new one, a couple of years old, and over 10G worth of extras. i said 'whats it sound like?' well, after the building stopped shaking, he said 'wanna take it for a ride?' i tried to get an answer out but i think i squeaked 'uhu'. now it's in my garage. when i finished the test ride, i turned to chris and said 'you wanna sell harleys? don't use that softail as the demo bike, use something like this you'll win everytime! '
unfortunately now i have to get a sissy bar, took the wife for a lap and didn't even get out of first gear she started screaming and grabbing for a handhold, the seat is tapered for some reason and she started sliding off the back(i know why it's tapered, lol, makes the chicks hang on for dear life!). the honda has a sissybar so she just sits back and relAXES. DIFFERENT STORY NOW, LOL. DAmn caps lock. anyhooze, i gotta finish this pic i'm doing, so will catcha later, thnx for listening to my ramblings..

[noaksey]

good on ya dave! now there was a 53million dollar oz lotto winner on the gold coast, so do tell !! well was it??? lol. riki.

[Sabreghost]

AAAAHA!!! no. sob. i could've done with it. sob. no, not really. it was funny, my wife and i satrted talking about what we would do with the money if we had won it. it was an interesting discussion. . . hopefully this saturday, lol

[noaksey]

ye we were doing the same! aah well next time.

[GregerLMacleod]

Congratulations again on your VERY WISE DECISION ! ! ! ! ! CAPS LOCK INTENDED. LOL

I really miss having a bike, (my Harley) but a lot of the time I barely keep my truck on it's wheels, LOL and I haven't had $$ for medical insurance for almost 15 years now...... So....... I have been looking for an old roller to build, but no luck with that. I'm biding my time for now.

Good for You Dave, buying one that's already been accessorized was the way to go. Welcome to the world of HD!

Don't forget to post pics of your new ride, and also your latest Angelina progress.

Cheers!

Greger

[Sabreghost]

Here's a couple pics of the hog, angelina later today
2007 FXDBI dyna street bob
Greger, i've never had a harley before, so i might be asking you a question or 2 in the near future, lol.

[Sabreghost]

I was waiting till the new honda fury came out next year, it looks pretty wild, but they went a started this beast up, and .. honda,,,,what honda??

[Neder/Brit]

Well Dave I don’t know to much about bikes except what I see on OCC lol, but she is a slick looking brute. See what you mean about the sissy bar shame, and I mean for the look of the bike not the missus. So if your pleased I’m pleased for ya. Oh by the way dont own a stencil burner.

[Sabreghost]

thnx neder, lol. sorta hijacked my own thread, hey..

[GregerLMacleod]

That's a great ride Dave, looks beautiful! I love that exhaust system, and i'd change the seat too. I'd put on a single with a pea pad! LOL Don't tell your missus I said so. LOL
There's a lot to like about your new bike, I've only touched the tip of the ice berg.

You must B a very pleased content "wild colonial boy". : ) The song came to mind, so I threw it in there. (Hope you don't mind.) LOL

[Sabreghost]

lol, thnx greger... unfortunately my bony backside needs all the support it can get. got a bit more of my pic done, i'll post it before i go to work _